Share/Bookmark

By Lisa Cypers Kamen, Harvesting Happiness

When adversity strikes, what’s your first response? Do you withdraw and try to ignore the problem? Look to others for support? Get suited up for battle?

In his pondering on human nature, philosopher Aristotle boils it all down to this: How people act when the choice isn’t clear or easy is the gist of who they really are. Whether he knew it or not, Aristotle’s ideas for character all those centuries ago is also a good indicator for happiness: The way we maneuver through life’s traumas speaks volumes about how happy we are.

So how do we react when life’s got us down? We could take the first road, pretending the problem isn’t there, or look to others for comfort. But both those approaches keep us stagnant, preventing us from using that negative energy to propel us forward. If an acquaintance starts spreading hurtful rumors about you, gossiping back only spreads the gloom. The best way to make a statement about your worth is to use that negative buzz around the neighborhood to fuel your search for joy. Take up a musical instrument, volunteer at a local shelter, or even learn a new language! Find something, anything, positive to throw your energy into so that adversity isn’t the main thing occupying your mind.

Flourishing — being energized, engaged and positive about life — is better revenge than malice or a juicy rumor. It shows off your strength and confidence, and tells adversity that you’re the one in control. Finding ways to maintain our happiness mantra amid negative people and events is the key to staying happy – and I bet resisting revenge gossip and the temptation of hostility would prompt Aristotle to say a lot of good things about your character.
Happiness is an inside job®
Happiness Strategy:

Often, a practice as simple as repeating a single-sentence mantra can go a long way toward helping us develop positive life habits. When adversity hits, it is more important than ever to focus on positive energy that propels us forward. The next time you are faced with a tough situation that has the potential of knocking you down, remember this mantra: My ability to flourish and stay positive is bigger than any troubles I am experiencing. Repeat this mantra at key points in your day: Say it ten times aloud when you wake up in the morning, five times each time you pick up your cellphone to make a call, and ten more times as you lie in bed reflecting on the day you’ve had. As you say each word in the mantra, truly think about its meaning and try to live the next hours of your day according to its message. By having this mantra as something concrete and predictable to turn to every time life gets shaky, you’ll learn the art of staying grounded amid uncertainty. You’ll be flourishing before you know it.

Remember…happiness is an inside job!

Nothing gives happiness life a free gift. Receive your complimentary eBook, Got Happiness Now? Click here for your free copy.

Independent filmmaker, author, happiness coach and speaker Lisa Cypers Kamen creates these blogs to entertain, enlighten and educate our service men and women along with their families as well as support our troops. To contact Lisa, email her directly at lisa@harvestinghappiness.com and check out her websites at www.harvestinghappiness.com , www.hh4heroes.org & www.harvestinghappinesstalkradio.com.

Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio with Lisa Cypers Kamen brings a fresh approach to the airwaves promoting happiness, well-being and global human flourishing by presenting a diverse and proactive collection of the greatest thinkers and doers who have devoted their lives to creating a better world in which to live.

She is an expert in creating happiness, finding pathways to happiness, and building a happiness formula in her Harvesting Happiness workshops. Cultivate a happier life by tuning in weekly click here .Wednesdays at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST. or download her free podcasts by clicking here.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Share/Bookmark

By Lisa Cypers Kamen, What is Your Happiness?
Happiness is something everyone wants, but happiness seems to elude so many of us. We search and we search for our happiness, and we hope to find our happiness through relationships, goal achievement, money, faith, material goods and more. Can you take a breath and stop searching for a moment? Take another breath and then another and then another. Let each breath be deeper and longer than the one before. Stop the quest and just breathe.
Don’t think as you sit and breathe deeply. Let your mind have a bit of freedom from its constant effort to find answers and solutions. Simply enjoy the sensation of relaxation and peace that will fill your body and soul with each inspiration. Understand that when you give the mind its freedom, you open the door to inspiration. Let the breath do the work for you.
Now, as you give yourself the gift of this peaceful space, choose happiness. Your happiness, or your H-Factor, is a simple choice. It is no more or no less than a choice. The choice and the experience of happiness comes from within you, you see. Happiness has always be there, here, within. Happiness emerges from within you rather than from sources of external gratification. Take time every day to choose happiness. Breathe it in like the fragrant aroma of a glorious flower or of a fine wine.
As the pace of daily life becomes faster and faster, the importance of taking control of our time becomes mandatory. From the point of conscious awareness, take the time to stop, to breathe and to choose happiness. This choice will affect the rest of your day, your month, your year and your life.
Remember…happiness is an inside job!

Nothing gives happiness life a free gift. Receive your complimentary eBook, Got Happiness Now? Click here for your free copy.

Independent filmmaker, author, happiness coach and speaker Lisa Cypers Kamen creates these blogs to entertain, enlighten and educate our service men and women along with their families as well as support our troops. To contact Lisa, email her directly at lisa@harvestinghappiness.com and check out her websites at www.harvestinghappiness.com , www.hh4heroes.org & www.harvestinghappinesstalkradio.com.

Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio with Lisa Cypers Kamen brings a fresh approach to the airwaves promoting happiness, well-being and global human flourishing by presenting a diverse and proactive collection of the greatest thinkers and doers who have devoted their lives to creating a better world in which to live.

She is an expert in creating happiness, finding pathways to happiness, and building a happiness formula in her Harvesting Happiness workshops. Cultivate a happier life by tuning in weekly click here .Wednesdays at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST. or download her free podcasts by clicking here.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Share/Bookmark

By Lisa Cypers Kamen, Harvesting Happiness

Since what seems like the beginning of time, people attempting to diffuse disagreements have told people wrapped up in the quarrel that “there are two sides to every story.” The result usually goes something like this: One person in the argument is more emotional than the other and immediately scoffs at the comment. The other person in the disagreement – the one that is likely a little more willing to back down – sees his or her foe’s reaction and then tosses out any thought of meeting halfway. Every once in a blue moon, the idea of seeing both sides actually succeeds in inspiring empathy, but most often, it fails. And here’s why: The statement, “there are two sides to every story” simply isn’t true!

Heated arguments with friends or loved ones happen more than any of us would like to admit. These situations can start anywhere and can be triggered by anything (and it’s often the littlest things that cause the arguments to escalate). When we’re caught up in the moment, it’s only natural to see these types of situations as black and white: Either I win, or my opponent does. Either I’m right, or the other person is. But it’s precisely that false dichotomy that makes the two sides to every story argument so detrimental. The fact of the matter is, resolving arguments shouldn’t be about choosing one of the two opposing viewpoints as “correct”; all that does is put a Band-Aid on the situation, ensuring the hard feelings will live on and the wounds will never fully heal. Instead, ending the argument should be about working together to compromise somewhere in the middle. The first side of the story is yours; the second is your opponent’s. So what’s that third side that we always seem to overlook? Reality.

It’s easy to overlook reality when we’re caught up in a heated argument. It’s also easy to refuse to budge when you think you’re right. But reality is your friend. It’s the middle ground that can allow both sides to walk away content. By acknowledging that reality is separate from your perspective and from the other person’s viewpoint, you’ll become more open to finding a solution that resolves rather than covers up the root issue. And what does that mean? A lot less ill will toward the person you’ve been arguing with.

No one likes to be wrong, and no one likes to admit defeat. If we enter into an argument acknowledging that there is a third side to the story – the reality of the situation – then we’ll have a much better shot at meeting somewhere in the middle. And the more efficiently we resolve our arguments, the more quickly we can move on to less turbulent waters.
Happiness is an inside job®
Happiness Strategy:

The next time you find yourself in a disagreement with a friend, or a loved one, pull out a piece of paper. Instead of engaging in a heated debate, each of you should be given time to rationally spell out what you feel, want and need. Remember, each person should have an equal opportunity to fully express him or herself. Rather than engaging in a back and forth debate, each person should express him or herself completely before the other person can begin. Once everything is written out, try to find the commonality in both of your positions. See if any of the words that are on your side of the list match your friend’s list. Also, try to see whether everything you want is completely mutually exclusive to everything your friend wants (chances are, it is not). Through this method, you’re more likely to discover the common ground, or “third side to the story” that gets overlooked during a traditional back and forth argument.
Remember…happiness is an inside job!

Nothing gives happiness life a free gift. Receive your complimentary eBook, Got Happiness Now? Click here for your free copy.

Independent filmmaker, author, happiness coach and speaker Lisa Cypers Kamen creates these blogs to entertain, enlighten and educate our service men and women along with their families as well as support our troops. To contact Lisa, email her directly at lisa@harvestinghappiness.com and check out her websites at www.harvestinghappiness.com , www.hh4heroes.org & www.harvestinghappinesstalkradio.com.

Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio with Lisa Cypers Kamen brings a fresh approach to the airwaves promoting happiness, well-being and global human flourishing by presenting a diverse and proactive collection of the greatest thinkers and doers who have devoted their lives to creating a better world in which to live.

She is an expert in creating happiness, finding pathways to happiness, and building a happiness formula in her Harvesting Happiness workshops. Cultivate a happier life by tuning in weekly click here .Wednesdays at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST. or download her free podcasts by clicking here.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Share/Bookmark

By Lisa Cypers Kamen, What is Your Happiness?
Happy people are inspiring and delightful to be with. Their happiness is infectious. We feel better when we are around happy people. Of course, we understand that all people have moments of sadness, disappointment, anxiety or irritation. However, there are many people who are happy most of the time no matter what. In spite of life’s challenges, some people find a way to smile and laugh every day of their lives. These people choose to live! Their happiness is infectious and spreads to those around them like a virus. Happy people improve affect their environment via domino effect of their positive outlook, behavior and model. These people choose to live joyfully in every moment. These people heal our hearts and our minds. They lift us up.
Finding happiness and living joyfully can be as simple as walking through an open door. Perhaps the only question we must ask ourselves is this; do we really want to be happy? Do we value the idea and experience of happiness enough to embrace it and live it? Is happiness important enough to us to choose it now?
We, too, can be a person who inspires and uplifts others. There are no courses to take. There are no fees to pay. There is nothing we need to do other than make a choice; no matter what our life circumstances are we can be happy right now because we choose it. We have the power to do this. Everyone has the power to do this. Embrace your happiness. Discover your H-Factor.
You may find that your walk through life becomes immeasurably easier. You may find that you have the energy to do all the things you really want to do. You may find that you live to laugh, dance, sing and play rather than living to survive. You will attract happy people to you, and you will find fulfillment from within yourself and through your choice to live joyfully. What a beautiful thing indeed!
Remember…happiness is an inside job!

Nothing gives happiness life a free gift. Receive your complimentary eBook, Got Happiness Now? Click here for your free copy.

Independent filmmaker, author, happiness coach and speaker Lisa Cypers Kamen creates these blogs to entertain, enlighten and educate our service men and women along with their families as well as support our troops. To contact Lisa, email her directly at lisa@harvestinghappiness.com and check out her websites at www.harvestinghappiness.com , www.hh4heroes.org & www.harvestinghappinesstalkradio.com.

Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio with Lisa Cypers Kamen brings a fresh approach to the airwaves promoting happiness, well-being and global human flourishing by presenting a diverse and proactive collection of the greatest thinkers and doers who have devoted their lives to creating a better world in which to live.

She is an expert in creating happiness, finding pathways to happiness, and building a happiness formula in her Harvesting Happiness workshops. Cultivate a happier life by tuning in weekly click here .Wednesdays at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST. or download her free podcasts by clicking here.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!